公文書管理 法律はできたが課題も多い

The Yomiuri Shimbun(Jun. 25, 2009)
New archive law marks start of major change
公文書管理　法律はできたが課題も多い（6月25日付・読売社説）

The nation's national archive system, which has not performed as well as those of other countries, is set to fundamentally change.
　諸外国と比べ不備が目立つ公文書館制度が根本から改められる。

A law on management and preservation of official state documents was enacted Wednesday that sets out the procedures for drawing up and managing documents by administrative authorities as well as rules covering their transfer to the National Archives of Japan. The law is expected to come into effect in April 2011.
　行政にかかわる文書の作成、管理から国立公文書館への移管までの手続きを包括的に定めた公文書管理法が成立した。２０１１年４月から施行される見込みだ。

As a democratic nation, it is the government's responsibility to preserve documents detailing policy decision-making processes and to fulfill its responsibility to make such information available to the public.
　政策決定の過程を伝える文書を着実に保存し、国民に対し説明責任を果たすことは、民主主義国家として当然の責務である。

The law makes it clear that state documents are intellectual resources to be shared by all citizens to support the foundations of a healthy democracy. It also stipulates that people are allowed to proactively use such documents.
　公文書は「健全な民主主義の根幹を支える国民共有の知的資源」であり、「国民が主体的に利用し得るものである」ことが法律に明記された。

To meet the aims stated under the law, we must steadily work to better preserve and manage state documents.
　法の趣旨を踏まえ、公文書の保存・管理を着実に進めていかなければならない。

Ministries and agencies currently preserve administrative documents for at least one year and up to 30 years. In the final fiscal year of the preservation period, a decision on whether to discard the information, transfer it to the National Archives of Japan, or extend the preservation period have been determined at the initiative of the relevant ministry or agency.
　省庁が行政文書を保存する期間は１年から最長３０年で、最終年度に、廃棄か、国立公文書館に移管か、保存期限を延長するかが各省庁の主導で決められてきた。

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Logbooks, lists lost

National archives management has been so poor, however, that the logbooks of a Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel were discarded before their preservation term had expired, and a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry document listing patients suspected of being infected with hepatitis C through tainted blood products was left in a storage area.
　管理体制もずさんで、海上自衛隊の航海日誌が保存期限前に破棄されたり、厚生労働省の薬害肝炎の症例リストが倉庫に放置されたりする問題もおきている。

The new law stipulates that the consent of the prime minister is needed before documents are discarded and that administrative documents, which are valuable as historical materials, will be transferred to the National Archives of Japan in almost all cases.
　新法では、廃棄には首相の同意が必要なことや、歴史資料として重要な行政文書は原則として国立公文書館に移管されることなどが定められた。

However, the law, which was proposed by the government, does not cover Diet and court documents.
　政府が提案したこの法律では、国会と裁判所の文書については対象外とされた。

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Archives law must be debated

A report compiled by an expert government panel in November sought to promote the transfer of documents drawn up by the Diet and courts to the National Archives of Japan. For that purpose, the panel has proposed a reorganization of the body that oversees the archives, changing it from its current status as an independent administrative corporation to a special administrative corporation.
　昨年１１月に政府の有識者会議がまとめた報告書は、国会と裁判所の文書の国立公文書館への移管を促進することを求めている。そのため、国立公文書館を現在の独立行政法人から「特別の法人」に改組するよう提言した。

The Diet resolution accompanying enactment of the law stated that an examination must be made of how the National Archives of Japan should be reformed. Thorough discussion of the issue is indeed needed to ensure the new plan quickly takes shape.
　こうした国立公文書館のあり方についての検討は、国会の付帯決議に盛り込まれた。議論を深め、具体化を急ぐ必要がある。

The expansion of the National Archives of Japan will be a big task. It has been pointed out that the capacity of the main building, located in Kitanomaru Garden in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, will be reached within a decade. The current number of staffers is merely 42 people, in contrast to the 2,500 employed in the United States and 800 in Germany.
　国立公文書館の拡充も大きな課題だ。東京・北の丸公園内にある本館は、１０年以内に満杯になると指摘されている。職員数もわずか４２人で、米国の２５００人、ドイツの８００人に遠く及ばない。

Archivists must be quickly trained. A change in the current mindset of officials at ministries and agencies toward preserving documents also should be promoted.
　文書管理の専門家の養成が急務だ。各省庁の職員の文書保存に対する意識改革も、併せて進めていくべきだろう。

With progress of IT, the number of electronic documents has greatly increased in recent years, making it necessary to draw up rules for the efficient management of electronic documents.
　ＩＴ化の進展で、近年は電子文書も増えている。効率的な電子文書の管理が出来るようルール作りも必要だろう。

Many tasks need to be tackled, but we must steadily promote the preservation of documents by taking a long-term view and seeing this project as one concerning the very basis of our nationhood.
　課題は山積しているが、国の根本にかかわる事業として、長期的な視野から、着実に推進していかなければならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 25, 2009)
（2009年6月25日01時33分 読売新聞）